Press Release

Music By Prokofiev and Shostakovich Featured inSpecial Sounds About Town Program

SUNDAY, MAY 27 AT 7:30 PM

The West Coast-based Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) Debut Orchestra returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sunday, May 27, at 7:30 p.m., as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Shadow of Stalin, a series of events that offer an intense exploration of the profound effects of government decisions on creativity. YMF Debut Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Sean Newhouse leads the orchestra, and Southern California native, violinist Jennifer Frautschi, in a program that includes Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, as well as Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.

Through a series of concerts, symposia and other events, Shadow of Stalin examines the influences on music composed by such visionaries as Shostakovich and Prokofiev, during the time of an editorial in the Communist newspaper, Pravda, attacking a then-popular Shostakovich opera. The programs are held throughout May and early June.

The YMF Debut Orchestra's Shadow of Stalin performance is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Sounds About Town series, which furthers the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Association's goal of nurturing tomorrow's performers by providing opportunities for leading youth ensembles to perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Scholar-in-residence Laurel Fay discusses the concert program at "Upbeat Live," a free event in BP Hall open to all ticket holders, held one hour before this performance.

SEAN NEWHOUSE recently began his second season as Music Director and Conductor of the Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) Debut Orchestra. The recipient of the YMF Conducting Grant and the BMI Foundation, Inc. Lionel Newman Conducting Study Grant, as well as the YMF's 2005 National Conductor Search, Newhouse follows in the footsteps of such alumni YMF conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Lawrence Foster, Myung-Whun Chung, Lucas Richman, Jung-Ho Pak and Daniel Hege. He has recently been named to one of three prestigious conducting fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center for the 2007 summer season, where he will conduct the renowned TMC Orchestra and be mentored by James Levine and Stefan Asbury. Newhouse made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in 2006 to critical acclaim. Additional 2006 debuts included the Milwaukee Symphony and Aspen Concert Orchestra. In 2005, he was selected as the winner of the Aspen Conducting Prize and named Assistant Conductor to the Aspen Music Festival & School and Music Director David Zinman for the 2006 season. In 2004, at the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas, Newhouse debuted with the New World Symphony, sharing the podium with Maestro Tilson Thomas for a pair of subscription concerts. He also has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra as part of the National Conducting Institute under the guidance of Leonard Slatkin. Originally trained as a violinist, Newhouse studied at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Eastman School of Music and the Pierre Monteux School, among others.

Born in Pasadena, violinist JENNIFER FRAUTSCHI began studying the violin at age three. Her numerous prizes include the 1999 Avery Fisher Career Grant and first prizes in the Washington and Irving Klein International Competitions. Selected by Carnegie Hall for the 2003/04 Distinctive Debuts series, she gave her New York City recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Hall in April 2004. Frautschi made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut in August 2002 under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Ravinia Festival. She has appeared in recital at Ravinia Festival's Rising Stars Series, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the Gardner Museum in Boston, and La Jolla Chamber Music Society's Discovery series. International recital appearances include the Imperial Garden Concert Series in Beijing, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland, and the San Miguel de Allende Festival in Mexico. Jennifer Frautschi was a student of Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles and the USC School of Music. She attended Harvard, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann. She presently resides in New York City. Frautschi performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the "ex-Cádiz," previously played by the American violinist Joseph Fuchs.

Founded in 1955, YOUNG MUSICIANS FOUNDATION (YMF) is one of the oldest and most respected organizations on the West Coast, serving young musicians both locally and nationwide by providing performance opportunities, financial assistance and music education programs to thousands of young musicians at all stages of development. The DEBUT ORCHESTRA, one of 13 YMF programs, has a rich history that includes more than 45 premieres of works by such world-renowned composers as Igor Stravinsky, Ingolf Dahl and Michael Torke. The orchestra is acclaimed as one of the premier youth orchestras in the country and provides important pre-professional training to the most talented young musicians ages 14 to 25 from the greater Los Angeles County and Orange County areas. For more than 13 years, YMF and BMI have collaborated in presenting premieres of works by BMI composers. Other youth programs administered by YMF include the Scholarship Program, Chamber Music Series, Arts Management Training Program, Debut Competition, School Outreach Program, Youth Mentor Artists Program, Debut Orchestra Camp, YMA Honors Orchestra, YMA Scholarship Fund for Diversity and the Instrument Loan Program.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2007 AT 7:30 PM

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

YOUNG MUSICIANS FOUNDATION DEBUT ORCHESTRA

SEAN NEWHOUSE, conductor

JENNIFER FRAUTSCHI, violin

PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10

"Upbeat Live," a free event open to all ticket holders, is held in BP Hall one hour before this performance featuring Shadow of Stalin Scholar-in-Residence Laurel Fay.

Tickets ($15-$39) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. When available, choral bench seats ($15) will be released for sale to selected Philharmonic, Colburn Celebrity Recital, and Baroque Variations performances beginning at noon on the Tuesday of the second week prior to the concert. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.